How My 5 Star Land Holiday had Cruiseline similarities…….

Having recently returned from a 5 Star holiday in Tenerife I couldn’t help but compare how the similarities I found in a luxury hotel are also very similar to that on a cruise ship.

The Hotel I stayed at was the recently opened Hard Rock Hotel in Tenerife in Playa Paraiso, a small town that is under going huge development and that I can see, as time goes on will be a thriving holiday resort.

On arrival at the Hotel we were greeted by staff all immaculately dressed directing us to check in where a champagne cocktail was offered as we did so. Of course I accepted and was a nice touch as we were checked in and given our room key. The room key was no ordinary room key though. It was a wristband with a built in sensor that not only opened the door to our room but also was scanned when we paid for our drinks. Now Royal Caribbean came to mind as this is exactly what they use on their Quantum Class Ships.

When scanned you then inputted your own personal pin code which then authorised payment to your room account. Very impressive.

I booked a Gold Suite and wow , 50m2 and all open plan. The storage in the suite was cleverly hidden behind floor to ceiling black mirrored doors as was the huge shower room that we only found on the 2nd day 🙂 The attention to detail I found was again very similar to what you would find on a luxury cruise ship, a hidden mini bar and wine rack which we found was complimentary , beautiful bathrobes and slippers and even a chocolate on our pillow we found every evening.

The Sea view was wonderful and what a way to wake up in a morning.

Nothing was too much trouble and as we sunbathed by the pool we were given luxury plush towels, a waiter called Rafa was on hand to service our every whim and the Beach Club a few feet away catered with the finest of dining and champagne by the glass or bottle in you prefer. Plenty of different options on the menu including a healthy eating menu for the health conscious.

The sunsets we experienced were amazing and watching the sunset go down on one of the many bean bags with a drink in hand was definitely a highlight.

Here the evening entertainment is low key that is the only thing different to a cruise where entertainment is in abundance so you can either have a cocktail in one of the lounges listening to a singer on the piano or a saxaphone player by the pool or you can pay 20 euros to go into neighbouring resorts.

For me it was just a few nights away to relax and enjoy the sunshine which was in abundance.

I mentioned the fine dining at the beach club earlier which brings me onto the food at the hotel, again a similarity you would find on many a luxury cruise ship especially for families. The buffet breakfast was the best I have witnessed. Absolutely spoilt for choice. I took some photos from the buffet to show the amazing array of treats they had for children. For adults though there was everything you could imagine and the quality of the food offered was second to none.

I think is is the first land based holiday I have been on that I genuinely didn’t want to leave and although pricey eg a Gin and Tonic and a Vodka and Coke was 15 euros , we somehow didn’t seem to spend much. There was a lovely Italian restaurant outside which cost 10 Euros for a Large Pizza and a glass of Wine which I though was great value.

My next short break will be on Celebrity Eclipse in May for 2 nights with friends and as one of my favourite ships I am really looking forward to it.

Until next time…. Happy Holidays……..

Cheers Holly x